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I liked the characters of Connie and William both suffering from grief after the death of a child; Connie in particular has had a very sad existence , dominated by her late husband, unable to lead the life she wants and then losing the daughter she loved. However her Italian adventure, at first so full of promise, soon leads to danger and she has to use all her inner resources to survive intact.
This particular story did not draw me in, and I was not as invested in the overall outcome as I had hoped to be towards the end. I think I am also harder in my reaction to this book than a few others of similar themes because I have previously really liked some of the author's works. Rhys is an exceptional writer who has developed a very beautiful and composed read that thrived with vitality. The embedded history in this book was well researched and made the Italian post-war and Fascist setting seem incredibly real.The promoter of this competition is News Group Newspapers Ltd (publishers of The Sun) (the “Promoter”).
I thoroughly enjoyed this mysterious thriller. Not quite the Murder expected in the title but a rich complex story with interesting characters not least the older woman Constance who following the death of her husband and daughter decides to take a job near Florence looking after William North a not so old invalid. The castle is deliciously creepy with noises in the night, ghosts and strange goings on along with a not so dippy spoilt Evelyn and her Fascist husband Roberto who seem intent on spending all of William's money. Constance is enjoying looking after William and Nora Evelyn's lonely young daughter but as William's health starts to get decidedly worse and the strange things happening take a more sinister turn Constance starts to get suspicious about whatever is going on. From the outset, the welcome she receives and the interactions with the castle’s occupants are deeply unsettling. Things happen which cannot be explained and Constance finds that though she knows perfectly well that she is competent, nevertheless she begins to lose any confidence she has as strange occurrences, disappearances and odd happenings all seem to undermine her judgement.Rachel Rhys has created a powerful and nuanced character in Connie. She is forty-nine years old, a tall, strong suffragette with nursing experience gained during WW1. It takes time for her to settle into being a paid servant. William North, the art expert she is employed to watch over while he recovers from a cerebral haemorrhage, is younger than she expected. The friendship of his charming niece Evelyn is unreliable, and Evelyn’s handsome husband Roberto is an unsettling influence. Gradually Connie becomes accustomed to their ways, while the warm sunshine and the lush landscape of Tuscany revive her spirit and reawaken her latent sexuality. There is a dark side to life at the Castello. Evelyn’s neglect of her young daughter Nora horrifies Connie. Women and girls accused of witchcraft were murdered at a nearby beauty spot, so when she hears unearthly music in the dead of night she fears supernatural influences. When William’s recovery goes into reverse, Connie begins to doubt herself. Has she suffered lapses of memory? Will she be accused of trying to murder the man she has learned to care for? This is an atmospheric and evocative read set in Tuscany in the late 1920s just as Mussolini is coming to power. The story is told through Connie’s point of view for the entire length of the book and this does work very well. We see her unease and at times growing confusion as strange things start to occur. Incidents which she can’t provide a reasonable explanation for. She feels the sadness within the castle especially with Nora who comes across as a strange child who is more or left to her own devices whilst her mother flits around the city with her new husband. Although when Connie spots Roberto with some Fascists she is aghast that he is apparently on their side. Nora is lonely and needs guidance as her mother dismisses her as being rather an inconvenience as opposed to someone to love, cherish and nurture. But Nora is watchful, odd but endearing and maybe she sees and remembers an awful lot more than she is given credit for. Connie strikes up a friendship with her as I felt she did with William the further the book progressed. But William is a closed book and as his health begins to deteriorate despite the best care afforded by Connie he becomes more angry, incapacitated and unable to communicate properly. They do develop a tentative connection of sorts but as things turn against Connie she feels as if she is in a desperate situation which is rapidly spiralling out of her control. On a spur of the moment decision, she answers an advertisement in The Lady to be a companion to William North, a stroke victim in Tuscany. The ad has been placed by North’s niece, Evelyn who together with her husband, Roberto, live in and have charge of the castle.
I love books set between the Wars, and Agatha Christie is one of my all-time favourite authors. So the description of “Murder Under the Tuscan Sun” by Rachel Rhys (AKA @tammycohenwriter) appealed to me straight away. As the novel progresses your liking, and disliking, of the the individuals changes along with the subtle shifts as to who was causing Constance to feel she was losing her mind, whilst doing her best to protect those in her care. The setting of the story both in place and time was brilliantly done. The Italian sunshine and countryside are both beautiful but the intense heat can also be oppressive and add to the dark atmosphere in the castle. The growing strength of fascism in Italy at that time also adds to the uneasiness that lays over everything.
About this book
The Promoter reserves the right to publish entries (including parts of entries) other than the winning entry and publication does not necessarily mean the entrant has won a prize. The Promoter reserves the right at any time to cancel, modify or supersede the competition (including altering prizes) if, in our sole discretion, a competition is not capable of being conducted as specified. The Promoter reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal value in the event that circumstances beyond their control make this unavoidable. I read and loved Rachel Rhys' 'A Dangerous Crossing' so I had high hopes for this one! Thanks to NetGalley for my copy of the book. At first the Castello di Roccia Nera is everything Constance hoped for, with its beautiful surroundings and interesting inhabitants. But there are secrets just below the surface in the castle… Is Constance losing her mind, or is there real danger in the idyllic Tuscan hills? We first join the story in 1946, when an unknown character is returning to the castle near Florence. I was immediately drawn into the atmospheric description of the castle, with its crumbling stone dragons, left devastated after occupation by German soldiers. Something terrible obviously happened here, but what?
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